Method and system for processing email during an unplanned outage

ABSTRACT

The method and system of the present invention provides an improved technique for processing email during an unplanned outage. Email messages are redirected from the primary server to a secondary server during an unplanned outage such as, for example, a natural disaster. A notification message is sent to users alerting them that their email messages are available on the secondary server by, for example, Internet access. After the termination of the unplanned outage, email messages received during the unplanned outage are synchronized into the users standard email application.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation patent application, andincorporates by reference, U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No.10/655,656 filed on Sep. 5, 2003 entitled “Method and System forProcessing Email During an Unplanned Outage” which claims priority fromand incorporates by reference prior U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 60/408,755 filed Sep. 6, 2002, entitled “System For ProvidingBackup Electronic Messaging Services During Unplanned Outages.”

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a method and system forprocessing email during an unplanned outage. More particularly, thepresent invention provides for the redirection of email during anunplanned outage, notifies users that alternative access is available tosaid email, and restores messages received during the unplanned outageinto the users' original email system to maintain the integrity of theemail file.

2. Description of Related Art

Everyday more and more companies are concluding that email messaging isa mission critical application worthy of inclusion in a businesscontinuity plan. Previously, companies that made this decision had noalternative but to implement expensive and complex systems.Traditionally, the solution has been to replicate the company's entireemail system, such as a Microsoft Exchange database, in a remotedatacenter on hardware similar to that owned by the company. Because ofthe complexity of such system, such as Microsoft's Exchangearchitecture, replication strategies have focused on real-time databasereplication of disks at the byte level or, alternatively, ontransferring offline database backups on a server-by-server basis.

Even in cases where a company implements complete replication of itsdatabases, it is not uncommon for there to be gaps in email continuitydue to, for example, database corruption, the presence of viruses,denial of service attacks, security breaches and other factors. Some ofthe most often cited problems with replication are:

-   -   1. High Cost. The cost involved in replication can be        staggering. In order to implement an effective replication        system, the company must purchase third party replication        software, acquire network bandwidth, secure server capacity,        retain administrative support and then monitor each of these        systems.    -   2. Replication of Only a Subset of the Servers. As a result of        the costs inherent in providing a replicated database, such as,        for example, the cost of hardware, software, bandwidth and        support personnel, it is common for only a few of the most        critical servers to be replicated.    -   3. Database Corruption. Because replication technology by its        very nature mirrors the files from one server onto another, a        corrupt file on the original server will be mirrored in its        corrupt form on the backup server. There is currently no        efficient means for preventing the mirroring of corrupt files.    -   4. Incapacitation Due to Virus. Similarly, if a virus occurs in        a file on the original server, it will be transported to the        second server. Server corruption due to viruses can cause email        outages for days.    -   5. Transactional Inconsistency. Because replication solutions        typically perform byte level replication of the disks, they do        not provide integrity for the Exchange transaction boundaries.        For example, a single transaction on Microsoft Exchange may        consist of ten sequential writes to the disk. If the replication        software has only replicated eight of those ten at the time of        an outage, then the backup will be incomplete, resulting in a        corrupt file which may fail to mount.    -   6. No Vendor-Supported Replication Solution. Currently no system        that replicates systems like the Microsoft Exchange database is        readily available at an economical price.    -   7. Complexity of Replication. The complexity of making an        efficient, effective replication solution causes the system to        be more prone to failure and thereby require greater resources        to maintain.

For all of these reasons the existing technology fails to provide anadequate method for processing email during an unplanned outage. Thereis a need, therefore, for an improved method and system for processingemail during an unplanned outage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a method and system forprocessing email during an unplanned outage and substantially departsfrom the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art. Moreparticularly, the present invention comprises the steps of managingusers' email; redirecting inbound email messages from a primary serverto a secondary server when said primary server is unavailable; notifyingsaid users that the redirection of inbound email messages has beenimplemented; providing the users with access to the email addresses on asecondary server while the primary server is unavailable; notifyingusers when the primary server is again available; and incorporating theemail messages received while the primary server was unavailable intothe software for managing users' email so as to create a complete emailhistory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosed invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings, which show important sample embodiments of theinvention and which are incorporated in the specification hereof byreference, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a typical prior art replication process;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the preferred method of the presentinvention for processing email during an unplanned outage; and

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method for replicating email addresses ona secondary server.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will bedescribed with particular reference to the presently preferred exemplaryembodiments. However, it should be understood that these embodimentsprovide only a few examples of the many available embodiments andadvantageous uses of the innovative teachings described herein. Ingeneral, statements made in the specification of the present applicationdo not necessarily delimit any of the various claimed inventions.Moreover, some statements may apply to some inventive features, but notto others.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a typical replication process. Inbound emailmessages 101 are received and processed on the primary server 102. On aperiodic basis, the information on the primary server 102 is replicatedon a secondary server 103. The replication process can occur at the bytelevel, the file level or the disk level. In some cases, the replicationsystem is configured such that only files or disks to which changes havebeen made are replicated. In the event of an outage of the primaryserver, the secondary server is activated. However, because the primaryserver 102 and the secondary server 103 do not act in concert, it isnecessary to take the primary server 102 completely offline beforeactivating the secondary server 103. Moreover, it is not possible totest the efficacy of the replication system by transferring only a fewusers from the primary server 102 to the secondary server 103. Also,because of the complexities in transferring from the primary server 102to the secondary server 103, it can take as long as 30 to 60 minutes tocomplete a transfer at the time of an outage.

FIG. 2 shows a diagram outlining the preferred method for processingemail during an unplanned outage. In general, inbound email messages 201are redirected from a primary server 220 to a secondary server 230 whensaid primary server 220 is unavailable. Users are notified that emailmessages 201 have been redirected and those users are provided access totheir email messages 201 via the secondary server 230. Users are againnotified when the primary server 220 is available. Thereafter, the emailmessages 201 that were received while the primary server 220 wasunavailable are synchronized with the preexisting email messages 201 onthe primary server 220 to create a continuous email history.

In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, inbound email messages 201are sent to a server gateway 210. In a corporate environment, inboundemail messages may be sent from customers, vendors, partners, suppliersand the like. In a typical environment, inbound email messages arerouted to an email application 240 residing on the primary server 220. Aregistry of all email addresses residing on the primary server 220 iskept either on the primary server 220 or on the server gateway 210. Insome cases, the method of determining the email addresses that reside onthe primary server 220 utilizes functionality inherent within the emailapplication 240. In other cases, the method of determining the emailaddresses that reside on the primary server 220 may be an independentprogram operating autonomously.

Next, email addresses that are redundant to the email addresses residingon the primary server 220 are created on the secondary server 230. Thesecondary server 230 can be located remotely from the server gateway 210and may be connected, for example, through the internet. In most cases,a message will be employed whereby the email addresses on the secondaryserver 230 will be updated on a periodic basis to replicate the emailaddresses on the primary server 220. This creation of redundant emailaddresses on the secondary server 230 is continued on an ongoing basis.

A method is next employed to detect whether email addresses that resideon the primary server 220 are detectable to inbound email messages 201.In some cases, this detection can be as simple as monitoring the emailflow for error messages indicating a delivery failure. In other cases,an automated method may be employed which continually monitors a flow ofinbound messages 201 to determine whether they are received on theprimary server 220 as intended.

At such time as the email addresses that reside on the primary server220 are not detectable to inbound email messages 201, the inbound emailmessages 201 are redirected from the primary server 220 to the secondaryserver 230. The transition from the primary server 220 to the secondaryserver 230 can be done automatically to determine that the emailaddresses on the primary server 220 are not being detected by inboundemail messages 201. It is also possible to direct only a portion of theinbound email messages 201 from the primary server 220 to the secondaryserver 230 in cases where only a portion of the email addresses residingon the primary server 220 are undetectable to inbound email messages201. Similarly, a decision may be made to transfer all inbound emailmessages from the primary server 220 to the secondary server 230 eventhough only a portion of the email addresses on the primary server 220are undetectable to inbound email messages 201. In those cases, forexample, where it appears that primary server 220 may be prone toadditional failure. It may also be desirable in those cases where thetransition from the primary server 220 to the secondary server 230 isperformed manually, to implement a password protection scheme wherebyability to effectuate the transition requires the entering of apassword.

At the time, or immediately after, inbound email messages 201 have beenredirected to the secondary server 230, a notification is sent to usersalerting them that email messages are available on the secondary server230. The notification method may consist, for example, of the automateddelivery of notification messages 250 to an alternate email address foreach of the users. Each of the users 231, 232 and 233 will have accessto the secondary server 230 over the internet or a wide area network.The aforementioned notification messages 250 can be sent to, forexample, cellular telephones, personal digital assistance, pagers andthe like.

During the period that inbound email messages 201 are directed to thesecondary server 230, continual assessment is underway to determine whenemail addresses, residing the primary server 220, are again detectableto inbound email messages 201. This activity may take the form of forexample, periodically pinging the email addresses residing on theprimary server 220 and evaluating whether a response is received.

Once the primary server 220 is again available, inbound email messages201 that had been directed to the secondary server 230 can be redirectedback to the primary server 220. At that time, users can be notified thatthe primary server 220 is again operational and that their traditionalemail application 240 is functioning. The notification to users canagain be in the form of a notification message delivered to each user'salternate email address.

Once inbound email messages 201 are successfully redirected to theprimary server 220, inbound email messages 201 that had been received onthe secondary server 230 during the outage can be synchronized into theemail application 240 thereby creating a comprehensive email historywithin the email application 240.

It is important to understand that in this preferred embodiment there isno need to take the primary server 220 completely offline in order totest the efficacy of the secondary server 230. In addition, there is nosignificant cost inherent in testing the efficacy or functionality ofthe secondary server 230. In addition, the ability to transfer only aportion of the email addresses residing on the primary server 220 to thesecondary server 230 provides a tremendous benefit. For example, if onlya limited number of email addresses residing on the primary server 220are affected, then only the inbound email messages 201 intended forthose email addresses can be redirected to the secondary server 230. Inanother example, after an outage has occurred, it is possible toredirect the inbound email messages 201 back to the primary server 220on a limited basis to test the viability of the primary server 220without the need to transfer all of the addresses on the secondaryserver 230 to the primary server 220. This functionality permits agradual transition back to the affected primary server 220. Also,redirecting inbound email messages 201 from the primary server 220 tothe secondary server 230 can be effectuated in less than two minutescompared to the 30-60 minutes required in traditional replicationsystems.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a method for replicating email addresses ona secondary server. In the initial step, email addresses that reside ona primary server are monitored using a means independent from the emailapplication used to process email messages to create a registry ofexisting email addresses 301. Periodically, a query 302 is sent to theprimary server to determine changes to the registry. More specifically,the query will seek to determine whether email addresses exist in theregistry 303, if there are email addresses that do not exist in theregistry 304, or whether the email addresses are currently being updatedin the registry 305. If the email address exists in the registry 303,then no further action is taken and the system repeats the query on a302 on a periodic basis. If the email addressed does not exist inregistry 304, then the email address is added to the registry 306 andthe address is updated on a secondary server 308. Thereafter, additionalqueries 302 are run on a periodic basis. Finally, if the email addressis being updated in the registry 305, that status is noted in theregistry 307 and the added queries are run in the future to determinethe updated status.

1. A method for providing backup electronic messaging services duringunplanned outages, comprising the steps of: redirecting email messagesfrom a primary server to a secondary server when said primary server isunavailable; notifying intended recipients of said email messages thatthe redirection of said email messages has been implemented; providingsaid intended recipients with access to said email messages on asecondary server while said primary server is unavailable; notifyingsaid intended recipients when said primary server is again available,and incorporating said email messages received while said primary serverwas unavailable into said intended recipient's primary email file so asto create a continuous email history.
 2. A method for providing backupelectronic messaging services during unplanned outages, comprising thesteps of: retrieving an organization's email directory prior to anunplanned outage; managing said email directory across multipleplatforms; restoring emails to said organization's production emailsystem; managing said restoration across multiple platforms; notifyingsaid organization's employees of the occurrence of said unplannedoutage; and populating an alternative back-up messaging system.
 3. Amethod for providing backup electronic messaging services duringunplanned outages, comprising the steps of: managing an organization'semail directory across multiple platforms prior to an unplanned outage;upon the occurrence of said unplanned outage, restoring emails to saidorganization's production email system wherein said restoration occursacross multiple platforms; notifying said organization's employees ofthe occurrence of said unplanned outage; and populating an alternativeback-up messaging system.
 4. A method for processing email during anunplanned outage comprising the steps of: managing users' email activitythrough a software application residing on a primary server; determiningthe email addresses that reside on said primary server; creating on asecondary server email addresses redundant to said email addresses thatreside on said primary server; determining if said email addresses thatreside on said primary server are detectable to inbound email messages;redirecting said inbound email messages addressed to said emailaddresses that reside on said primary server from said primary server tosaid email addresses that reside on said secondary server at such timeas said email addresses that reside on said primary server are notdetectable to said inbound mail messages, thereby providing continuousaccess for said users to said inbound email messages and a means forgenerating outbound email messages from said users' existing emailaddress; notifying said users that said email messages are available onsaid secondary server; assessing the time at which said email addressesthat reside on said primary server are again detectable to said inboundemail messages; redirecting said inbound email messages sent to saidemail addresses that reside on said secondary server from said secondaryserver to said email addresses that reside on said primary server aftersaid time at which said email addresses that reside on said primaryserver are again detectable to inbound email messages; notifying saidusers that said inbound email messages are again available on saidprimary server; and synchronizing said inbound email messages receivedon said secondary server from said time as said email addresses thatreside on said primary server are not detectable to said inbound emailmessages until the time said email addresses that reside on said primaryserver are again detectable to inbound email messages with the existingmessages in said software application, thereby completing the emailmessage history within said software application.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein said primary server is located remotely from said secondaryserver and is interconnected to said secondary server through theInternet.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein said method of determiningthe email addresses that reside on said primary server utilizesfunctionality inherent within said software application.
 7. The methodof claim 4, wherein said step of creating a secondary server of saidemail addresses redundant to said email addresses that reside on saidprimary server is repeated periodically so as to maintain a currentregistry of redundant email addresses on said secondary server.
 8. Themethod of claim 4, wherein said step of detecting if said emailaddresses that reside on said primary server are detectable to inboundemail messages is performed manually by assessing whether an errormessage has been received indicating an inability to deliver saidinbound email message.
 9. The method of claim 4, wherein all of saidinbound email addresses on said primary server are automaticallyredirected to said secondary server at any time said email addresses onsaid primary server are undetectable to said inbound email messages. 10.The method of claim 4, wherein all of said inbound email addresses ofsaid users on said primary server are redirected to said secondaryserver after some, but less than all, of said inbound email messages areundetectable.
 11. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of notifyingsaid users that said inbound email messages are available on saidsecondary server further includes the automated delivery of apreexisting notification email message to an alternate email address forsaid users.
 12. The method of claim 4, wherein said users' access tosaid inbound email messages on said secondary server is over theInternet.
 13. The method of claim 4, wherein said users' access to saidinbound email messages on said secondary server is over a wide areanetwork.
 14. The method of claim 4, wherein said step of assessing thetime at which said email addresses that reside on said primary serverare again detectable to said inbound email messages further includesperiodically pinging said email addresses and evaluating whether aresponse is received from said email addresses.
 15. The method of claim4, wherein said step of notifying said users that said inbound emailmessages are again available on said primary server consists of theautomated delivery of a preexisting notification email message to analternate email address for said users.
 16. The method of claim 4,wherein the ability to redirect said inbound email messages from saidprimary server to said secondary server is password protected.
 17. Asystem for processing email during an unplanned outage comprising: meansfor managing users' email activity through a software applicationresiding on a primary server; means for determining the email addressesthat reside on said primary server; means for creating on a secondaryserver email addresses redundant to said email addresses that reside onsaid primary server; means for detecting if said email addresses thatreside on said primary server are detectable to inbound email messages;means for redirecting said inbound email messages addressed to saidemail addresses that reside on said primary server from said primaryserver to said email addresses that reside on said secondary server atsuch time as said email addresses that reside on said primary server arenot detectable to said inbound email messages, thereby providingcontinuous access for said users to said inbound email messages and ameans for generating outbound email messages from said users' existingemail address; means for notifying said users that said email messagesare available on said secondary server; means for assessing the time atwhich said email addresses that reside on said primary server are againdetectable to said inbound email messages; means for redirecting saidinbound email messages sent to said email addresses that reside on saidsecondary server from said secondary server to said email addresses thatreside on said primary server after said time at which said emailaddresses that reside on said primary server are again detectable toinbound email messages; means for notifying said users that said inboundemail messages are again available on said primary server; and means forsynchronizing said inbound email messages received on said secondaryserver from said time as said email addresses that reside on saidprimary server are not detectable to said inbound email messages untilthe time said email addresses that reside on said primary server areagain detectable to inbound email messages with the existing messages insaid software application, thereby completing the email message historywithin said software application.
 18. The system of claim 17, whereinsaid primary server is located remotely from said secondary server andinterconnected to said secondary server through the Internet.
 19. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein said means for determining the emailaddresses that reside on said primary server utilizes functionalityinherent within said software application.
 20. The system of claim 17,wherein the operation of said means for creating a secondary server ofsaid email addresses redundant to said email addresses that reside onsaid primary server is repeated periodically so as to maintain a currentregistry of redundant email addresses on said secondary server.
 21. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the operation of said means for detecting ifsaid email addresses that reside on said primary server are detectableto inbound email messages is performed manually by assessing whether anerror message has been received indicating an inability to deliver saidinbound email message.
 22. The system of claim 17, wherein all of saidinbound email addresses of said users on said primary server areautomatically redirected to said secondary server at any time said emailaddresses on said primary server are undetectable to said inbound emailmessages.
 23. The system of claim 17, wherein all of said inbound emailaddresses on said primary server are redirected to said secondary serverafter some, but less than all, of said inbound email messages areundetectable.
 24. The system of claim 17, wherein said means fornotifying said users that said inbound email messages are available onsaid secondary server further includes the automated delivery of apreexisting notification email message to an alternate email address forsaid users.
 25. The system of claim 17, wherein said users' access tosaid inbound email messages on said secondary server is over theInternet.
 26. The system of claim 17, wherein said users' access to saidinbound email messages on said secondary server is over a wide areanetwork.
 27. The system of claim 17, wherein said means for assessingthe time at which said email addresses that reside on said primaryserver are again detectable to said inbound email messages furtherincludes periodically pinging said email addresses and evaluatingwhether a response is received from said email addresses.
 28. The systemof claim 17, wherein said means for notifying said users that saidinbound email messages are again available on said primary serverfurther includes means for the automated delivery of a preexistingnotification email message to an alternate email address for said users.29. The system of claim 17, wherein said means for redirecting saidinbound email messages from said primary server to said secondary serveris password protected.
 30. A method for processing email during anunplanned outage comprising the steps of: using a software means formanaging users' email; redirecting inbound email messages from a primaryserver to a secondary server when said primary server is unavailable;notifying said users that said step of direction inbound email messageshas been implemented; providing said users with access to said emailaddresses on said secondary server while said primary server isunavailable; notifying users when said primary server is againavailable; and incorporating said email messages received while saidprimary server was unavailable into said software means for managingusers' email so as to create a complete email history.
 31. The method ofclaim 30, wherein said primary server is located remotely from saidsecondary server and interconnected to said secondary server through theInternet.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein said email addresses onsaid primary server are periodically replicated on said secondary serverso that the transition from said primary server to said secondary serveris seamless.
 33. The method of claim 30, further including the step ofmanually determining the availability of said primary server byassessing whether an error message has been received indicating aninability to deliver said inbound email message.
 34. The method of claim30, wherein the step of redirecting said inbound email addresses of saidusers on said primary server to said secondary server is automaticallyperformed at any time said primary server is unavailable.
 35. The methodof claim 30, wherein the step of redirecting said inbound emailaddresses of said users on said primary server to said secondary serveris performed after some, but less than all, of said inbound emailmessages are undetectable.
 36. The method of claim 30, wherein said stepof notifying said users that said means of redirecting inbound emailmessages has been implemented further includes the automated delivery ofa preexisting notification email message to an alternate email addressfor said users.
 37. The method of claim 30, wherein said users' accessto said inbound email messages on said secondary server is over theInternet.
 38. The method of claim 30, wherein said users' access to saidinbound email messages on said secondary server is over a wide areanetwork.
 39. The method of claim 30, further including the steps ofdetermining the availability of said primary server by periodicallypinging said email addresses on said primary server and evaluatingwhether a response is received.
 40. The method of claim 30, wherein saidstep of notifying said users that said inbound email messages are againavailable on said primary server further includes the automated deliveryof a preexisting notification email message to an alternate emailaddress for said users.
 41. The method of claim 30, wherein the step ofredirecting said inbound email messages from said primary server to saidsecondary server is password protected.
 42. A system for processingemail during an unplanned outage comprising: software means for managingusers' email; means for redirecting inbound email messages from aprimary server to a secondary server when said primary server isunavailable; means for notifying users that said means of redirectinginbound email messages has been implemented; means for providing saidusers with access to said email addresses on said secondary server whilesaid primary server is unavailable; means for notifying users when saidprimary server is again available; means for incorporating said emailmessages received while said primary server was unavailable into saidsoftware means for managing users' email so as to create a completeemail history.
 43. The system of claim 42, wherein said primary serveris located remotely from said secondary server and is interconnected tosaid secondary server through the Internet.
 44. The system of claim 42,wherein the email addresses on said primary server are periodicallyreplicated on said secondary server so that the transition from saidprimary server to said secondary server is seamless.
 45. The system ofclaim 42, further including a manual means for determining theavailability of said primary server by assessing whether an errormessage has been received indicating an inability to deliver saidinbound email message.
 46. The system of claim 42, wherein said meansfor redirecting said inbound email addresses of said users on saidprimary server further includes means for automatically redirecting saidinbound email addresses to said secondary server at any time saidprimary server is unavailable.
 47. The system of claim 42, wherein saidmeans for redirecting said inbound email addresses of said users on saidprimary server to said secondary server operates after some, but lessthan all, of said inbound email messages are undetectable.
 48. Thesystem of claim 42, wherein said means for notifying said users thatsaid means of redirecting inbound email messages has been implementedfurther includes means for the automated delivery of a preexistingnotification email message to an alternate email address for said users.49. The system of claim 42, wherein said means for providing users'access to said inbound email messages on said secondary server is overthe Internet.
 50. The system of claim 42, wherein said means forproviding users' access to said inbound email messages on said secondaryserver is over a wide area network.
 51. The system of claim 42, furtherincluding means for determining availability of said primary server byperiodically pinging said email addresses on said primary server andevaluating whether a response is received.
 52. The system of claim 42,wherein said means for notifying said users that said inbound emailmessages are again available on said primary server further includesmeans for automatic delivery of a preexisting notification email messageto an alternate email address for said users.
 53. The system of claim42, wherein said means for redirecting said inbound email messages fromsaid primary server to said secondary server is password protected. 54.A method for replicating email addresses on a secondary servercomprising the steps of: monitoring the email addresses that reside on aprimary server and using a means independent from the email applicationgenerally used to process email messages to create a registry of saidemail addresses; sending a query on a periodic basis to determine whichof said email addresses reside on said primary server at any point intime, said query capable of determining if a specific email addressexists on said primary server, said specific email address does notexist on said primary server, or said specific email address is in theprocess of being added to said primary server; based on the results ofsaid query, updating said registry of said email addresses; replicatingsaid email addresses on a secondary server upon a change in saidregistry of said email addresses.
 55. The method of claim 54, whereinsaid primary server is located remotely from said secondary server andis interconnected to said secondary server through the Internet.
 56. Asystem for replicating email addresses on a secondary server comprising:means for monitoring the addresses that reside on a primary server andusing a means independent from the email application generally used toprocess email messages to create a registry of said email addresses;means for sending a query on a periodic basis to determine which of saidemail addresses reside on said primary server at any point in time, saidquery being capable of determining if a specific email address exists onsaid primary server, said specific email address does not exist on saidprimary server, or said specific email address is in the process ofbeing added to said primary server; means for updating said registry ofsaid email addresses based on the results of said query; means forreplicating said addresses on a secondary server upon change to saidregistry of said email addresses.
 57. The system in claim 56, whereinsaid primary sever is located remotely from said secondary server andinterconnected to said secondary server through the Internet.
 58. Amethod for synchronizing messages received during an unplanned outagecomposing the steps of: identifying all email messages received on asecondary server during an unplanned outage; determining which of saidemail messages have not been previously received at the user's primaryemail address; forwarding copies of said email messages from saidsecondary server to said user's primary email address such that saidemail messages can be incorporated into said user's primary emailapplication.